Business Strategy: Marketing to Women

Introduction

Female consumers comprise an increasing number of product and service purchases, and the numbers continue to rise. Research has shown that women now make the majority of purchases in industries that are not traditionally considered "female friendly". According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World's Largest Market Segment, women are responsible for 80% of home improvement purchases, 66% of computer purchases, 55% of consumer electronic purchases, 60% of new car purchases, and 53% of investment purchases. Successful businesses recognize this growing market segment and spend the time and effort necessary to create a marketing plan that focus on the female consumer. It is this business strategy that leads to the success of many companies.

Female Buying Behavior - Drivers

One important step in creating a business strategy that includes marketing to women requires determining what drives female buying behavior. Women tend to lean toward practicality when making purchases. Instead of focusing on product special effects, companies should concentrate on the benefits the product will provide for the woman, her family, or her company. This is what matters to women.

When it comes to services, a woman prefers speaking with a live person. This will get her attention much quicker than a pre-recorded message. Interaction with a live person is what will make your company memorable to the female consumer (Meyers).

So how does a company determine what is important to women? Surveys, focus groups, customer feedback, and forums are effective methods of establishing what interests the female consumer. Research methods like these should be included in the marketing budget.

Female Buying Behavior - Where do Women Shop?

Another important aspect of a marketing to women business strategy is determining where she prefers to shop. Research on female shopping trends indicates that in the United States women do the majority of online shopping (Learned). Businesses can use this to their advantage by focusing their online marketing toward the female buyer.

Whether shopping in malls, catalogues, boutiques, on the web, or via telephone, women desire a greater amount of personal customer contact. They do not necessarily want to be bombarded by salespeople the minute they enter a store, but they do want to know that someone is available to answer any questions they may have. If a woman is shopping on a website, she wants to be able to reach someone in person if a question arises. Providing a customer service telephone number on the website is considered a major benefit by female consumers.

Female Buying Behavior - Product Design

Female consumers often require a different product design than male consumers. It is important to keep this in mind when creating a successful business strategy. In the past, products were generally designed for men. For example, when automobile airbags were first created, designers did not consider the fact that airbags could be a serious health risk to women who were much smaller in size than men. Another example is telephone voice recognition software that was first created using only male voices. These systems were unable to recognize female voices and speech patterns, making the systems ineffectual when female consumers called (Bonstein). Businesses need to realize that there are certain fundamental differences between women and men and consider these differences when designing their products.

Conclusion

The influence of female consumers is great and it will continue to grow. This is why it is important for companies to create a business strategy that includes marketing to women. Creating a marketing plan that focuses on the female consumer is an important step that will lead to business success.

Melissa Bushman has published several articles at Associated Content. Please click her name at the top of this page to view her other work.

References

Barletta, M. "Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World's Largest Market Segment." Dearborn Trade Publishing.

Bonstein, J. "The Challenge of Marketing to Women." Businessweek website. URL: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070515_664182.htm?chan=rss_topEmailedStories_ssi_5

Learned, A. "The Six Costliest Mistakes You Can Make in Marketing to Women." Inc. Magazine website. URL: http://www.inc.com/articles/2003/01/25019.html

Meyers, T. "What's your Marketing-to-Women IQ?" Pink Magazine website. URL: http://www.pinkmagazine.com/exclusives/marketing_women_iq_junejuly2007.html